June 2014 on WORLD: Created Equal/Gay Pride Month

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Australian Story: On the PrecipiceSunday, June 1, 2014 at 9:30pmScott Johnson was a young man with everything going for him - a math genius with a bright future. But one sunny day in 1988, on a trip to a beach in Sydney, Australia, everything changed. The search for the truth of what happened that day has brought together a wealthy internet pioneer, an international super sleuth, and the North South Wales Police Cold Case Unit. The story of their quest to solve a twentyfive year-old mystery.

The GroveWednesday, June 4, 2014 at 6pmMore Americans have been lost to AIDS than in all the U.S. wars since 1900. And the pandemic has killed 22 million people worldwide. But few know about the existence of the National AIDS Memorial, a seven-acre grove hidden in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. THE GROVE chronicles this garden's transformation from a neglected eyesore to landscaped sanctuary to national memorial. The film shows how a community in crisis found healing and remembrance, and how the seeds of a few visionary environmentalists blossomed into something larger than they could have imagined. But as the Grove's stakeholders seek broader public recognition through an international design competition, a battle erupts over what constitutes an appropriate memorial for the AIDS pandemic. What does it mean to be a national memorial? And how do we mark a time of unimaginable loss?

Independent Lens: We Were HereWednesday, June 4, 2014 at 7pmWhen AIDS came to San Francisco in the early 1980s, the city became a war zone. Friends and family members were struck down in their prime by a mostly mysterious illness for which there was no cure. But the community - hippies, drag queens, lesbians, moms and dads, doctors and nurses - came together when the nation's leaders looked the other way and built an unprecedented system of love, care, and compassion. Their tireless fight is a testament to the capacity of people working together to rise to an unthinkable occasion.

The Day It Snowed in MiamiWednesday, June 4, 2014 at 8:30pmA chronology of the LGBT-rights movement focusing on its early days during the Anita Bryant campaign in Miami-Dade County - a feature-length documentary by Joe Cardona in association with the Miami Herald Media Company.

Slavery by Another NameMonday, June 9, 2014 at 7pmSLAVERY BY ANOTHER NAME challenges one of America's most cherished assumptions: the belief that slavery in this country ended with Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. This documentary tells a harrowing story of how in the South, even as chattel slavery came to an end, new forms of involuntary servitude, including convict leasing, debt slavery and peonage, took its place with shocking force, brutalizing and ultimately circumscribing the lives of hundreds of thousands of African Americans well into the 20th century. It was a system in which men, often guilty of no crime at all, were arrested, compelled to work without pay, repeatedly bought and sold and coerced to do the bidding of masters. The program spans eight decades, from 1865 to 1945, revealing the interlocking forces in both the South and the North that enabled this "neoslavery" to begin and persist. Using archival photographs and dramatic re-enactments, filmed on location in Alabama and Georgia, it tells the forgotten stories of both victims and perpetrators of neoslavery and includes interviews with their descendants living today. The program also features interviews with Douglas Blackmon, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Slavery by Another Name" and with leading scholars of this period.

One Night in MarchMonday, June 9, 2014 at 8:30pmONE NIGHT IN MARCH tells the story of a historic college basketball game that captured the national imagination, influenced a state and helped redefine a sport. Interviews, rare footage and archival photos transport viewers back to a tumultuous time in United States history, just as the Civil Rights movement began gaining momentum throughout the South. In the late 1950s and early '60s, Mississippi State University's powerhouse basketball program earned several conference titles and national rankings. Despite their success, the Bulldogs could not play in the NCAA national championship due to an unwritten rule prohibiting all-white Mississippi collegiate athletic teams from competing against integrated teams. Mississippi State's president, its head basketball coach and their players ultimately risked their safety and their futures by defying this rule not to mention the governor and state legislature in pursuit of a national championship. This award-winning documentary recounts the 1962-1963 season and the events leading up to the team eventually playing in the tournament against the integrated Loyola University (Chicago) club. ONE NIGHT IN MARCH concludes with a return trip to Loyola, where the former players from those teams reunite and celebrate the landmark game they participated in 50 years earlier.

Independent Lens: Love Free or DieWednesday, June 11, 2014 at 6pm & 9pmFaith, love, marriage, homosexuality and the Episcopal Church collide in the first openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Robinson is a man whose two primary passions are in direct conflict: his love for God and for his partner Mark. Robinson is the first openly gay person to become a bishop in the historic traditions of Christendom. His consecration by the Episcopal Church in 2003, to which he wore a bullet-proof vest, caused an international stir. He becomes the focal point as American churches debate whether or not lesbian and gay people are equal to heterosexuals in the eyes of God, while the United States at large struggles with legal equality for gays and lesbians.

Independent Lens: Two SpiritsWednesday, June 11, 2014 at 7pmFred Martinez was one of the youngest hate-crime victims in modern history when he was brutally murdered at 16. This film explores the life and death of a boy, who was also a girl, and the essentially spiritual nature of gender.

The CampaignWednesday, June 11, 2014 at 8pmHeartbreaking and inspiring, The Campaign is a human drama that follows ordinary people compelled by a passionate belief in equality to go far beyond their everyday selves. They're caught in the political firestorm of one of the largest social issue campaign the U. S. has ever seen: the campaign to defeat California's Proposition 8 and to defend same-sex marriage. With exclusive access to the statewide headquarters of "No on 8," the story tracks Holli, Claudia, Richard, Anne, and Alison through emotional battles to protect their families, their rights, and their dignity. They learn that growing social acceptance does not always translate into votes, but that participating in the political process transforms them - win or lose. The passage of Prop 8 was a great shock to many, not only in California but across the nation and around the world. Growing social acceptance and isolated legal gains have produced a sense that increased LGBT legal protection is imminent. Yet at the time of the 2008 election, 31 states had voted against gay marriage at the ballot box. The story is much more complicated than a "Yes" or "No" vote. By reaching beyond the issues to follow strong characters, the film holds universal themes and appeal: the mixed emotions of family relationships, self-empowerment through activism, and the struggle in deciding how much of oneself to sacrifice for the cause. Characters drive the story of The Campaign, from their initial confidence that Prop 8 will be defeated, through their frustrating experiences of unfavorable polling numbers, to their heartbreaking 52-to-48-percent defeat on election night, and the turmoil beyond. We see the lives of real people in the balance, not polished representatives.

Great Conversations: John Lewis/Rachel MaddowSunday, June 15, 2014 at 7pmGeorgia's 5th Congressional District Representative and an American icon, John Lewis ha witnessed history in the making and made history himself as one of thekey figures of the Civil Rights Movement. Now, to share his remarkable story with new generations, Lewis is turning to the graphic novel format, with March. Interviewer to be announced.

Independent Lens: The Powerbroker—Whitney Young’s Fight for Civil RightsMonday, June 16, 2014 at 7pmWhitney M. Young Jr. was one of the most celebrated, and controversial, leaders of the civil rights era. This documentary follows his journey from segregated Kentucky to head of the National Urban League. Unique among black leaders, he took the fight directly to the powerful white elite, gaining allies in business and government, including three presidents. Young had the difficult tasks of calming the fears of white allies, relieving the doubts of fellow civil rights leaders and responding to attacks from the militant Black Power movement.

The MarchMonday, June 16, 2014 at 8pmWitness the compelling and dramatic story of the 1963 March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King gave his stirring "I Have a Dream" speech. This watershed event in the Civil Rights Movement helped change the face of America. The film reveals the dramatic story behind the event through the remembrances of key players such as Jack O'Dell, Clarence B. Jones, Julian Bond and Andrew Young. Supporters and other testimonials of the March include Harry Belafonte, Diahann Carroll, Roger Mudd, Peter Yarrow and Oprah Winfrey, in addition to historians, journalists, authors and ordinary citizens who joined some 250,000 Americans who thronged to the capital on that momentous day to peacefully demand an end to two centuries of discrimination and injustice. Other notable figures featured in the film include Clayborn Carson, Edith Lee Payne, Joyce Ladner and Rachell Horowitz. Denzel Washington narrates.

Independent Lens: The New BlackWednesday, June 18, 2014 at 8pmCentering on the historic fight to win marriage equality in Maryland, this film takes viewers into the pews, onto the streets, and provides a seat at the kitchen table as it looks at how the African American community grapples with the divisive gay rights issue.

Anyone and EveryoneWednesday, June 18, 2014 at 6pm & 9pmANYONE AND EVERYONE tells the stories of families from Utah to North Carolina and Wyoming to New York, all connected by a common thread - a gay child. This poignant and often heartbreaking documentary by first-time filmmaker Susan Polis Schutz (also the parent of a gay son) depicts families representing a wide range of religions, nationalities and political leanings. During the film, parents of homosexual teens and young adults eloquently recall their initial reactions to their child's coming - out and their sometimes difficult journeys to acceptance. Some showed unconditional support; others struggled with their child's sexual orientation, either fearing alienation from their extended family, their church or community or failing to understand the universal nature of homosexuality.

Global Voices: Tales of the WariaSunday, June 22, 2014 at 10pmWhile many in the West view Islam as socially repressive, in Indonesia there exists a transgender community known as the warias; men who live openly as women. This film uncovers a world that not only defies our expectations of gender and Islam, but also reveals our endless capacity as human beings to search for love; whatever the consequences.

Freedom Riders: American ExperienceMonday, June 23, 2014 at 7pmIn 1961, segregation seemed to have an overwhelming grip on American society. Many states violently enforced the policy, while the federal government, under the Kennedy administration, remained indifferent, preoccupied with matters abroad. That is, until an integrated band of college students, many of whom were the first in their families to attend a university, decided, en masse, to risk everything and buy a ticket on a Greyhound bus bound for the Deep South. They called themselves the Freedom Riders, and they managed to bring the president and the entire American public face to face with the challenge of correcting civil rights inequities that plagued the nation. Veteran filmmaker Stanley Nelson's inspirational documentary is the first feature-length film about this courageous band of civil rights activists. Gaining impressive access to influential figures on both sides of the issue, Nelson chronicles a chapter of American history that stands as an astonishing testament to the accomplishment of youth and what can result from the incredible combination of personal conviction and the courage to organize against all odds.

America ReFramed: Broken Heart LandTuesday, June 24, 2014 at 8pmOn an early autumn afternoon, in his parent's ranch in Norman, Oklahoma, gay teen Zack Harrington killed himself with a gunshot to the head. One week earlier, Zack attended a local city council meeting in support of a proposal for LGBTQ History Month in his bible-belt town. When the floor was opened up for public comment, some community members made highly controversial statements equating being gay with the spread of diseases such as HIV and AIDS. Against the backdrop of a town bitterly divided on the issue of homosexuality, Zack's grief-stricken parents, both conservative Republicans and military veterans, are forced to reconcile their own social and political beliefs with their son's death. Determined to understand Zack, they discover a private diary, which paints a gripping portrait of a boy in crisis. Ultimately, they discover a chilling secret that Zack kept hidden for almost two years, which leads them to some painful conclusions about their son's life and death. When an outspoken conservative citizen runs for City Council, the Harringtons decide to join a politically active group called "MOMS: Mothers of Many" (mainly comprised of local mothers of LGBTQ youth). Over the course of the local election season, we witness Zack's family, once private and politically conservative, come out of their own closet, moving from private denial to a climactic and very public acceptance of their son's legacy.

Freedom Summer: American ExperienceMonday, June 30, 2014 at 7pmDuring the summer of 1964, the nation's eyes were riveted on Mississippi. Over 10 memorable weeks known as Freedom Summer, more than 700 student volunteers joined with organizers and local African Americans in an historic effort to shatter the foundations of white supremacy in the nation's most segregated state. Working together, they canvassed for voter registration, created Freedom Schools, and established the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, with the goal of challenging the segregationist state Democratic Party at the national convention in Atlantic City. The campaign was marked by sustained and deadly violence, including the notorious murders of three civil rights workers, countless beatings, the burning of 35 churches, and the bombing of 70 homes and Freedom Houses.